TERM PAPER FOR SCIENTIFIC LITERACY, PHYS 10062.

Hello Class, It is time to start thinking about the term paper, so here is the info: First, the subject: I would like you to write a paper on some scientific discovery that in your opinion had a major impact on some important aspect of everyday life. As an example, let us say that you picked the discovery of the laser. It certainly had an impact on many areas, so this would be a good choice. So how should the paper be organized and what should it contain? Let me begin with the outline of the paper that you should follow: 1. Title and author (you) 2. The paper itself. This should be divided into sections that include a. Introduction b. Body of the paper divided into sections and subsections, with subtitles) c. Conclusions 3. References (i.e., citations of literature sources that you used) The text of the paper should not be less than 8 pages, double-spaced. I encourage you to use figures to help illustrate your story. They don’t count toward the 8-page length, but will make your story clearer. Remember: a picture is worth 700,000 words. I will let you decide what to put in what section, to describe the discovery of what you are discussing, and show why it is important in ordinary life. As an example, if I were writing about the laser, in the introduction I would describe the scientific background (optical principles) that led to its discovery. Where appropriate, you can talk about the history that led to this discovery (in some cases it may fit better in the introduction, in other cases somewhere in the body of the paper). Using the case of the laser again, I would divide the body by the various uses to which lasers are applied. And I would write some sort of conclusion, that could summarize how the laser advanced technology, and possibly what might still be coming; but you may want to say something else as your conclusion, depending on what you learned from researching this topic. How to choose the topic: One way is to page through your text and find something that intrigues you. You can of course look ahead and pick something that we had not yet covered. Ideally, it should be something that interests you, and that will make you learn something new. Due date: the last day of classes, i.e., in our case April 26, 2016. Finally, if you have questions about anything to do with the paper, just run this by me. And good luck, JF